Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Austin Powers Lunch

Well, I say if the weather is going to go all gray and soggy, we might as well be eating après-ski food in the chalet.
The chalet, of course, would be this old 1963 house in inner suburbia. Hard to tear yourself away when there are ukuleles on the bookshelves and Roy Orbison on the CD.
The chalet food would be raclette. Stinky French-Swissy cheese, melted and smeared on boiled potatoes, accompanied by cornichons and cocktail onions.
Cranky's innovation was to melt the cheese on top of the potatoes (under the broiler). Their warmth kept the cheese melty.
Not very "ukulele" food, but terribly groovy and James Bondy.

14 comments:

Ms Brown Mouse said...

ooh, cornichons, I love me some cornichons - they are my special just for me snack in the fridge and I can only eat them alone, otherwise the house bloke pulls faces at me.

Christine said...

It's so good to see you back here, Cookie. I've been reading your last 5 posts (I don't always keep up!) and this is you. I'm glad you're owning your blog!

Zoomie said...

For some reason, I keep hearing about raclette these days - maybe you're just ahead of the next foodie trend!

Dagny said...

Melted cheese is always good in my book. And I agree with Zoomie. Perhaps I need to pick up some raclette myself on my next shopping trip.

Anonymous said...

"yea babay!" Nice looking dish you have there.

Tea said...

Hey, I love raclette!
I've been wanting to go to the raclette party the Swiss club holds in the east bay each fall, but it always falls on the same day as my Litquake event. Perhaps I can just campign for an invite to your raclette party instead:-)

Beccy said...

I remember my first raclette with Sam in France...delicious.

michael, claudia and sierra said...

you have all the damn fun...
i mean really! cornichons, melted raclette - and those little onion thingee's...! very different. i love that!

El said...

gawd I adore raclette. My aunt has two hibachi thingys that're de rigeur for that Swiss dish...one for meat, one for veggies, with little individual trays for each person's cheese to melt. Fondue, raclette: it's all a big party, eh? Especially with stinky cheese!

cookiecrumb said...

Morgan: Little midget pickles. Life is fun.

Christine: Thanks for the nice words. ;)
Good to see you.

Zoomie: I was unaware, at least on a conscious level. Perhaps I've been invaded by the germ of a zeitgeist.

Dagny: Tell you what. It was so easy! The satisfaction you get for something this easy? Go for it.

Lydia: Shagadelic, baby! Merci.

Tea: I'm thinking... If it's this easy, and if it turns people on so much, why NOT a party? A little Perry Como on the hi-fi. All set.

Beccy: Nice.

Claudia: This is almost "7-Eleven" food. You can get practically every ingredient at the dumbest store.

El: I know about those melty machines, but... Are they really necessary? Fun, though, probably.
And. You should see my fondue pot. A thing of beauty, I swear.

Catherine said...

oooooh baby! you're on my wavelength!

Anna Haight said...

oooh raclette! I love it! Loved it since my college days years ago. Simple and good, and great for cool days!

Katie Zeller said...

Raclette! 'Tis the season! At the supermarket last week the trays for 'raclette' filled the cases - mixes of stinky cheeses and spicy meats... Soon, very soon!

cookiecrumb said...

Catherine: I can see how this might appeal to you!! xx

Anna: I'm still not sure why the idea of eating this popped into my head, but it was perfect, and way "nostalgia."

Katie: I've always eaten my raclette meals vegetarian, though for the life of me I can't see why you couldn't toss in some charcuterie. Is that sort of what you mean?